Undergarment



March 23, 1948. E. J. ASHE ET AL 2,438,310

UNDERGARMEN'I' Filed Nov. 27, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS (564M14 y m2 (5. fraeu Gtbonzmgs March 23. 1948. E. J. ASHEETAL 2,438,310

UNDERGARMENT Filed Nov. 27, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS @dLUn/Ld y 0221(5. 44%

attorneys March 23, 1948. E. J. ASHE ET AL UNDERGARMENT Filed Nov. 27, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS JVMgfl/M attorneys E. J. ASHE ET AL UNDERGARMENT Fil-ed Nov. 27, 1945 v March 23, 1948.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 v INVENTORS l atented Mar. 23, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE UNDERGARMENT Edward J. Ashe, Knoxville, and Otis E. Webber, Fountain City, Tenn, assignors to Standard Knitting Mills, llnc., Knoxville, 'llenn., a. cor poration of Tennessee Application November 27, 1945, Serial No. 631,043

4 Claims. 1 This invention relates to below-the-waist undergarments, and has particular application to support type shorts, briefs and drawers for male wear.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide an improved form of undergarment embodying the support feature which is better fitting than previously known garments of the same general type, and which affords sufficient fullness in the crotch and thigh regions to allow complete freedom of body movement without binding or discomfort.

Another object is to provide a nether garment of the character described having a novel form of crotch construction which not only furnishes extra material and elasticity where needed to accommodate all normal movements of the body, but also provides a well supported pouch at the crotch.

A further object is to provide an undergarment of new construction wherein the advantages of better fit, maximum comfort and an improved pouch formation are economically obtained with a minimum increase in material and labor costs.

These and other objects will appear more fully upon consideration of the detailed description of certain embodiments of the invention which follows. In this connection, although several specifically different forms of undergarment are described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is to be expressly understood that these drawings are for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed as defining the scope of the invention, for which latter purpose reference should be had to the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a mans undergarment of the midlength or short-legged style embodying the invention, showing the garment as it appears in flattened, undonned condition;

Fig. 2 is a rear View of the garment shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the pieces of material comprising the garment of Fig. 1, exclusive of the waistband and reinforcing or supporting members later described, shown in detached, flattened condition prior to assembly;

Fig. 4 is a front view similar to Fig.1 of a modified form of midlength garment constituting another embodiment of the invention;

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 are views similar to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of a brief or legless type undergarment representing still another modification of the in- Vention; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view of a piece of material comprising the body of a brief type garment constituting a variation of the construction illustrated in Fig. 7.

With reference first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the undergarment shown therein comprises a main body portion ll adapted to cover substantially all of the trunk of the wearer between the waist and the crotch with the exception of the front central portion and the crotch, a pair of similarly shaped, overlapping, flyand crotch-forming front pieces or inserts I2 and I3 and a triangular front piece is secured to the lateral edges of the body portion H and completing the front and crotch of the garment, a waistband 45 secured to the upper edges of the body I I and front piece 14, and a pair of strap-like reinforcing or supporting members it and I1 extending from the crotch to the waist, overlying the seams connecting the front pieces l2, I3 and I4 to the body II, and secured to the edges of said elements and to the waistband l5. In this embodiment, the body II also has formed integrally therewith depending leg portions l8 and I9 adapted to amass the upper portions of the thighs 6f the wearer.

It will be apparent from the disclosure herein that the front pieces l2 and 13 are not inserts in the meaning frequently attributed to that word in the underwear art; 1. e., a gusset or crotch piece inserted in a. garment for the purpose of providing additional material at certain points or a difierent direction of stretch than is provided by the rest of the garment. Instead, they are parts of the front of the garment, also extending through the crotch and upwardly in the rear as hereinafter described, and in combination with the reinforcing members provide the well supported fly, crotch and pouch construction which is an important feature of the garment of the present invention. However, for convenience of description, the pieces l2 and i3, and their counterparts in the other embodiments, may be referred to hereinafter as inserts.

The body II is preferably formed of a unitary piece of knitted material having the wales thereof extending substantially vertically or longitudinally of the garment, as indicated at 26, so that the garment is stretchable in a horizontal or lateral direction in order to snugly fit the body of the wearer, but is substantially non-stretchable vertically. The inserts l2 and I3 and the front piece M are made of the same material as the body II, and also have substantially vertically extending wales. If desired, the front piece I4 could be made integral with the body ll along one of its inclined side edges, or with one of the 3 inserts I2 and I3 at its apex; either of such constructions, however, would be more wasteful of cloth than that illustrated. The waistband l5 may be of any suitable construction and material, but is preferably formed of a continuous piece of elastic webbing.

As will be seen best in Fig. 3, the piece of material from which body II is formed is generally rectangular in outline when in flattened condition, but has its edges so shaped as to cooperate with the waistband I5, inserts I2 and 13" and front piece I4 to provide a garment, covering the trunk of the wearer between the waist "anduthe "crotch, and also the upper portions of the thighs.

In the form shown, each of the lateral edges 2! and 22 has an upper diagonally extendin portion to which one of the inclined side edges of the front piece I4 is sewn, an intermediate curved portion to which the inserts I2 and i3 are; secured, and a lower vertical, portion which is adapted-to be sewnto-one of the lateral edges '23 and 24 of a cut-out .25: in thecentral portion of the lower edge 26 to form one of the leg portime It and I9. ,The lateral edges 2| and 22 are notchedatjZ I and 28,.respectively, to indicate the points at which they leg seams 29 and 33 begin and the seams between theinserts i2 and I3 and the lateral edges 2!) and 22 of the body I! end; the correspondingpoints of the inserts I2 and I3 are indicated at-3| and'32. I

The. inserts I2 and I3are ofidentical pat ern, but are laterally reversed when the garment is assembled'each consisting, of a, front, fiy-forming portion 33 having, one convex edge 34 and one concave edge 35 extending downwardly from the upper end: 36, an intermediate crotch-forming portion '3! both of theledges of which are concave, and an enlarged bulbous portion 38 which, when the garment is assembled, is adapted to extend upwardlyin the rear of the'garment above the point ofthe crotch and to be secured to the rear central portion of the lower edge 23 of body ll along a curved Seam 39. The curvature. of the seam 39 is suchthat, even though the seam itself is non-extensible, it nevertheless permits rela tively unrestricted lateral stretching of the material of both the body I I: and the enlarged bulbous portions 38 of the inserts I2 an-dI3 intheregion of said seam.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1-3, the junction between the enlarged bulbous portions, 38 of inserts l2 andl3 and the lower edgeof body II is. formed. by making a vertical slit 49 in the piece :of material from which body II is formed, .said'slitextending upwardly from the apex, ofcut-out, 25, for-a distancerap-' proximately equal to halfilthe periphery of portions 38, flaring *theislitymaterial to receive said portions38, and then sewing the latter to the edges of the slit MI along the, curved "or rounded seam 39. 'By way-of exampleytheslit maybe approximately 4 /2; inches inlength in a size13/i garment of the character illustrated in Figs, 1-3 A slit of this length provides, in. the finished garment, an extension'upwardly into the rear of the body I I approximately 3% inches above the point of the crotch; and since the extension measures approximately 5% inches in-gwidth at the widest point'cf bulbous-portions 38, there is'not only provided an extra amount of material in the seat of the'garment which, together; with the clasticity resulting from the curved seam 39, permits squatting, sitting and all other normal movements of the body without bindingor discomfort, but the flaring of the slit material to accommo- I 4 date insertion of the bulbous portions 38 also automatically sets the leg portions I8 and I9 in outwardly divergent positions, so that when the garment is worn the stretch of the material in the region of the thighs will be perpendicular to the-wales, rather than diagonally thereacross as is the case in. garments of the same general character heretofore known. The extra material thus provided in the crotch and seat of the garment is indicated by the folds or wrinkles 4| which appear when the garment is in flattened condition, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Although the crotch-forming portions 3! of inserts I2; and 13 are substantially narrower than theother portions of the inserts, having a minimum width of approximately 3 inches in a size 34 'midlength garment, for example, the absence of mation of a resilient; gently supporting-pouch or,

pocket at-the point of thecrotch; I-he support is enhanced by the reinforcing members l6; and H which extend, downwardly from-thewaistband I5 to the junctions between the curvedseam 39 and the inside leg seams 29 and 30- alongwhich the lateral edges H and 2-2 of body II below the notches 2'! and 28' are unitedlto theed ges 23 and as of the cut-out 25. Reinforcing members It and I! are preferably in the formpf non-extensible tapes which overlie the seams-between the body II, inserts I2 and I3 andwf-r-ont piece I4, crossing one another at the vjunctionsbetween said front piece and inserts, and are sewnboth to said body, I inserts and front piec and to the waistband I5.

In the completed garment,theentire periphery of each of the inserts I2 and I3 is sewn to the body II with theexception 1 of the concave edge 35 which is left free'andpreferably covered with 7 a suitable non-extensible binding fl ;Since the inserts I2 and '13- are, nasvpreviously mentioned, sewn into the body II in laterally reversed positions, the concave edges 35, lie onopposite sides of the front center lineof 'the'garrnent and form i upwardly in the'rearof the. arment above-the I point of the crotch, the insertion-thereof inrthe flared slit 40 and the connectionthereof-to the lower, edge; of the; body I I alon the curvedseam 39 not only afford additional clothin thdseatof the garment but also permit relatively jllIlIQ- stricted lateral stretching of the;mate ri al.-ofjthe body II and inserts I2 and I3 in the :reg-ion of the seam 39, thus producing a well fitting; comfortable garment, capable of allowing fu'll::freedom; of body movement without binding; fInser tion of the enlargedportionsfidof: inserts-Aland I3 into the slit 40 also results-binan outwardoset of the leg portions I8 and I9, and a consequent elimination of diagonal "stresses in the Imaterial of the garment; around the thighs-,leavin'g: the

material free tostretch perp'eridicularly-Tto zithe wales and thereby provide maximumelasticityL Fig. 4 "shows a modified form'of midlength undergarment which differs from that of 'Ei'gs.

only in elimination of the triangular front piece and the cross-over of the reinforcing members, a lengthening of the inserts or front pieces so as to extend all the way to the waistband, and a corresponding change in the shape of the lateral edges of the body of the garment to conform to the lengthened inserts. As shown, the front, flyforming portions of the insert 43 and 44 are extended upwardly to the waistband Hi to which their upper edges are secured, thereby replacing the triangular front piece I 4 of Fig. 1. The seams between the lateral edges of the inserts 43 and 44 and body I l are covered by reinforcing members 45 and 46 just as in the embodiment of Figs, 1-3, except that the upper ends of said members do not cross as do members l6 and IT in Fig. 1, but extend upwardly to the waistband above the flyclosed opening along convergent lines without meeting. In all other respects, the garment of Fig. 4 is of the same construction as that of Figs. 1-3.

Referring now to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the garment illustrated therein represents an application of the present invention to a below-the-waist garment of the brief or legless type. As in the case of the first-described embodiment of the invention, the garment of Figs. 5-7 consists of a main body portion 41, a pair of similarly shaped, overlapping flyand crotch-forming front pieces or inserts 48 and 49, a triangular front piece 59, a waistband 5! and a pair of reinforcing or supporting members or tapes 52 and 53, all of Which elements are of substantially the same construction, and function and cooperate in substantially the same manner, as the corresponding elements of Figs. 1-3, except for the form of body 41 and the fact that the intermediate crotch-forming portions 54 of inserts 48 and 49 may be relatively narrower than the corresponding portions 37 of inserts l2 and i3.

As shown in Fig. 7, the outline of the piece of material from which body 41 is formed is practically the same as that of the blank of body ll along the upper edge and downwardly along the lateral edges as far as notches 27 and 28 of the latter (the corresponding points being indicated. at 55 and 56, respectively, in Fig. 7). The lower edge 51 of body 41, however, is provided with a pair of relatively large cutouts 58 and 59 on opposite sides of the vertical center line of the blank which form the leg openings 60 and 6! when the garment is assembled, and with a centrally located, oval-shaped cut-out 62 which is adapted to receive the bulbous portions 63 of inserts 48 and 49 and to have its periphery sewn to those of the inserted portions 63 along a curved seam 64 of such curvature as to impose relatively no restriction to lateral stretching of the material of the seat of the garment in the region of said seam. Although the maximum vertical dimension of the cut-out 62 may be the same as that of bulbous portions 63 of inserts 48 and 49, its horizontal or lateral dimensions, and hence its area, are less than those of said portions 63 so that, in the completed garment, there will be an extra amount of material in the seat, as indicated by the wrinkles 65 in Fig. 6, to insure sufficient elasticity to avoid stricture during stooping. sitting and like movements of the wearer.

Ordinarily, an oval-shaped cut-out like that illustrated in Fig. '7 will provide adequate fullness in a brief type garment because such garments do not impose as much restriction on body movements as those of the legged types. However, if desired, additional fullness may bev obtained by 6 substituting for the oval-shaped cut-out 62 of Fig.- 7 either a slit like that shown in Fig, 3, or an inverted V-shaped cut-out 66 of the character in-' dicated in Fig. 8.

Similarly to the construction of Figs. 1-4, the reinforcing members 52 and 53 of the brief type garment of Figs, 5-7 extend downwardly from the waistband 5! to the junctions between thecurved seam 64 and the relatively short seams 61 and 68 along which the portions of the lower edge ent, Well supported pouch at the crotch. Gar

ments embodying the invention are better fitting and more comfortable than similar garments heretofore known, and require a minimum of material and labor for their manufacture.

While several specifically different forms of garment embodying the invention have been described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be obvious that th invention is not limited to the exact structures shown, but is capable of a variety of mechanical embodiments. For example, the improved crotch construction may be embodied without material change in garments having legs of various lengths other than the midlength type illustrated in Figs. 1-4 and in the below-the-waist portions of union suits, while certain features of said construction are also adaptable to garments for children and women, as well as to mens underwear of the support type. It should also be clearly understood that the dimensions of certain parts which are set forth above are intended as examples only, and may be varied as necessary to produce the desired results in garments of Varying types and sizes.

Various other changes which will now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art may be made in the form, details of construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the inventive concept. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An undergarment of the support type for male wear comprising a body formed of a unitary piece of laterally stretchable material adapted to cover the back, sides and portions of the front of the wearer between the waist and the crotch,

a waistband secured to the upper edge of said body, and a front piece of laterally stretchable material secured to the lateral edges of said body and completing the front of the garment, said front piece having an integral extension forming the crotch of the garment and extending upwardly in the rear of the garment above the point of the crotch, said front piece being so constructed and arranged as to provide a fly-closed opening in the front of. the garment and a pouch therebelow, and also being connected to said waistband so as to support the pouch therefrom, the lower edge of said body being cut upwardly in the rear of the garment to receive the upwardly extending portion of said extension, the area of the upwardly extending portion of said extension being eaeaeim greater.- than thatzof; the F cut-so as to provide extra: material-- the seatoffthefigariiient; saidifcut? material andsaid' upwardly extending portien ofa said extension being sewn together ialontga curvedseam of such configuration-thattheimateria"of the garment "in'; the region ofisaid; :seam'iiszrelaa tively free to- :stretch :laterallyi:

2.. An undergarment ofithe' supportfltypei for '1 male wear comprising asbodyiformed ofza unitary piece oflaterally*-stretchable5materialt-adapted;t0-v cover-Athe back, sides and :portions' of -the front" of the .wearer" betweerrthe zwaistrand :the cmtch, a waistband secured to-rthe' upper: edger0fz said: body," and a front piece of-laterally-stretchable material secured to the lateral edges of saidlbody and completing :the 'frontiofctheggarmentxsaid fron'tpiece having an integral"extensionifiorming1 thefcrotch of the garment andx'extending up-n wardly in the rear of thegarment abdve the point; of the crotch, said front piece beingso construct; ed and'arrangedas to" provide a fly closedsope 4 1 ing in the front of the garmenta'and a pouch therebelow,"'andxalso being connected itorsaid waistband" so as to' support the Ipouch therefrom; the'lower edge of said body'having-a cuteoutiirr: the rear; of the garment to receive the upwardly extending portion of' said extension, the area F of the upwardly extending portion of said extensien entering: said cut-rout being greaterthan :that'oi the cut-out so as 'toprovide'extra material inathe seat of the garment, saidupwardly' extendingipor tion: of said extension andsaidcutoiitfpdiitihaof; said body being sewn together along La curved seam of such configuration that the *inaterial of the garment in the regionxof isaid 'seainis relatively free'tostretch laterally.

3. An unde'rgarment of the-supporti'type for male wear: comprising a body formed ofa unitary piece of laterally stretchable materi'ali-adapted 'to cover the' back, sides and portions": of" the 'front of the wearer between the waist and the crotch said body also having depending Llg ipdrtions" adapted 'to encase at' least th'e upperportioiisot the thighs of the wearer; a waistband secured-"120 the-upper edg'e ofsaid body; a paircf overlaps ping frontpieces (if-laterally; stretchable rnate rial secured to the-lateral edges of said body-and completing th'e -fro'iit of the garment, 'saitv iront pieces being so constructedand arraii'ged as to form a fly-closed"opening-in t1'fe fr6nt ofthefig merit and a pouch therebelow said i '1; pie e-S5 having superposed e'xtei isions' orfnd 1n egrally therewith forming the'crothf th'e arm i'it and' extending upwardly in the re r of --garment above the'point ofthe 3 crot'ch the upwardly extending-- portionsofsaid front pieces being wider sions,- saidslit material and said upwardly-extend-in 'mortionsof I said extensions beingsewn together alongacurved seam of such configura tionrthat' the m aterialof the garment in 1 the regipn'of said seam is relatively free to stretch laterally, the insertionof theupwardly extending portions of saidextensions in the slit providing extra material in- 'theseat of the garment and-- producing an outward set of :said leg portions; and a pair of substantially non-extensible reinforcing members extendingfrom vthe crotch to the waistband and secured tothe lateraledges of;- said front pieces-and to said waistband, saidmembers providinggsupport for the pouch remithe waistband-.-- V I 4. An undergarment of the support type for? male'wear comprising a body, a waistband," and a front .piece of laterally-stretchable material GK-5" tending from the waistband downwardly-in-the-- front of *the garment toand through the: crotchand'upwardly in therear of the garment abovethe pointrof the crotch; said front-piecebeingsoconstructed and arranged-as -to provide-a -fiyclosed-openingfinathe'ifront of: the garmen-t and' a pouch atherebel'ow, and also being? connected to said -waistband so'as tosupportthepouch there-r from 'the" portion :of said front i piece which-ex-= tends upward-lyin the rear of the'garment being wider than "the crotch-forming portionthereof andbeings'ewn t'othebody of the garment along a :curved i seam ofsuch configuration that the' material in-the region of said seam is relativel fIG FtO stretch laterally;

EDWARD- J. ASHE:

The"following-references= are- 0f record mime file of this patent: 

